Valverde talks Todibo & Alba ahead of Sevilla

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The latest from the Barcelona boss

Ernesto Valverde has been talking all things Barcelona ahead of Sunday’s visit from Sevilla in La Liga.

The Barcelona boss was asked about Jean-Clair Todibo, Jordi Alba’s fitness and also talked about Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Here are the main points.

Valverde on Todibo

We have injured and suspended players, so there’s a definite possiblity he will play. But there are other players who are possibilities, players in the B team too. That’s why we have these players, so when we have problems they get a chance and can hopefully take it.

He is very powerful, very quick, he needs to control his impulses a bit, but he’s not afraid of taking the ball forward at his feet. He’s not played for some time but when he has he’s shown he has the quality to improve. The challenge in training and in games is to start to let his quality show.

Valverde on Jordi Alba

We’ll see if Jordi can recover. We’ll wait until training today, it’s certainly a possibility. He did part of training the other day and said he felt fine.

Valverde on Arthur and Arturo Vidal

We have lots options in midfield. There are a lot of players. Arthur wasn’t involved at the start of the season but he’s at a really good level now. Arturo Vidal came on at a key moment the other day and played really well. Competition is always good.

Valverde on Messi and Suarez

They are fit again, they showed that the other day. I’ll decide tomorow if I start one or the other or bring them on later. They are two players who have struggled with injuries this season. Tomorrow is a very important game and of course the more they play the better they get.

Valverde on Griezmann and Dembele

No positions are fixed in the team. Each game is different. They can play together or one or the other can play. There’s also Carles Perez and Ansu.

Valverde on international break

We like the players to be picked for international duty because it means they are not injured and playing well. There’s not that many players going this time so for us that’s not necessarily a bad thing. We’ll have a big squad for training and can work on some things. After that fortnight we have some tough games and we need to be ready for those.

Valverde on Sevilla

We want to win and to feel good going into the international break. This match is fundamental. It’s always an intense game against Sevilla. They’ve started the season well especially away from home, they’ve won three out four.

Source: barcablaugranes.com